IDE student Natalie Wochner wins Facebook-Funka Accessibility Hackathon

News - 10 December 2020 - Communication

Swedish accessibility consultancy company Funka, together with social media company Facebook, recently announced that IDE MSc student Natalie Wochner has won their Accessibility Hackathon with her ‘ Follow Me’ design. This navigation guide for people with visual impairment swill help them to do grocery shopping without becoming exhausted by trying to find a product.

Natalie developed 'Follow Me' as a project during the Advanced Concept Design master course. Her client was the Bartimeus Foundation. ”Follow Me is a creative, practical, and achievable solution, and has great potential to make a significant impact for people with vision loss. We believe it may also be of great usefulness to people with cognitive disabilities and want to strongly encourage you to continue advancing this solution and promoting equal access for all”, says Mike Shebanek, Head of Accessibility at Facebook and Chairman of the Hackathon jury. Natalie Wochner will receive an Oculus Quest 2 for her winning submission.